Let’s be honest. How many of us millennials are actually investing?
I’m talking about buying stocks, investing in bonds or setting aside a substantial amount in a high-yield savings account.
And not just being “interested” in investing (because most of us are anyway).
My peers are in their late twenties, some turning 30 next year – and most of them have invested nothing.
According to a report by Yahoo Finance, 43% of millennials aren’t investing.
But here’s a more troubling stat – 21% of millennials have invested less than $500 in their lifetime.
And I totally get it.
Just a couple of years ago, I was the one rattling off excuses when broached about this topic…
“But I don’t have the money”, “but there’s so much to learn”… sounds familiar?
But the truth is – You don’t have to be an expert to start investing. You don’t have to be rich to dip your toes into investing.
For now, time is still on our side. But for us to really leverage the power of compounding and outpace inflation, the sooner the better.
Still on the fence? Here’s a list of 4 easy & fun ways to help you get your toes wet:
1. Invest In Something That You’re Personally Interested In
There’s tons of companies out there and everyone’s looking for the best stock to buy. Instead of just blindly following suit, what really matters is that you’re interested in this company – you understand their business model inside out and you believe that it will offer long-term value. You could also be working in a particular industry, where you’re already one-upping others in terms of knowledge & information. That works too.
Bottom line – It’s not just about crunching numbers or analysing financial reports, because even the best investors can’t always predict market movements.
Interested in automobiles and electric cars? Look into Tesla, Workhorse and Arcimoto. Interested in eCommerce? Look into Facebook, Shopify and Square. Interested in video games? Look into Nintendo, Blizzard.
Well, you get the picture.
You’re likely to be familiar with how the business works – their competitive advantage, their weaknesses and the people who are running the business. Reading up about them can be won’t ever feel like a chore – you’ll be surprised that it can be very fun and rewarding too!
(Disclaimer: the above examples are for illustration purposes only)
2. Engage In Exciting Conversations
Yup, spice up your conversations with some investing talk – whether it’s 1-1, within your peer group or even in a tight knit community in the investing world. Most of the time, people are very upfront and honest of their experiences and this naturally leads to new perspectives and learnings.
And since we’re millennials, all the more we should be leveraging our social media apps for more ideas, information and opinions. Twitter, Reddit and my personal favourite, Dayre are great places to cross-check and stay on top of market trends. Plus, hashtags make it super easy to zoom in on something you’re looking for.
3. Give Robo Advisors A Try
They are a great option for complete beginners, automated and algorithm-driven – perfect if you want a more “hands-off” approach for a start. This is more for newbies who want to start slow, and invest passively for the long-term.
You’ll get your own diversified financial portfolio consisting of a mix of equities, bonds and cash. And you can choose from a range of risk appetites, and change the levels as you go. The assets in your portfolio will be automatically adjusted.
A great thing about Robo advisors is that many of them require zero minimum investments or lock-ins. And although earnings are relatively low compared to other more sophisticated investment vehicles, it does accumulate to a substantial amount over time.
Here are some of our top picks: StashAway, Syfe, Kristal.AI
Definitely go check them out!
4. Stay In The Know Using Online Financial Apps
There’s a wealth of information out there (and free too), and they are just a few clicks away. They make it really easy for you to track your holdings and stay on top of the latest financial trends. If you don’t know where to start, you can start here:
Yahoo Finance
One-stop portal where you can get the latest financial news, real-time data and commentary including stock quotes, press releases, financial reports.
I love the customised watchlist feature where I can easily keep an eye on my favourite stocks. And of course, the app also allows me to easily track the performance of my personal stock portfolio and holdings.
So maybe if you’re a fan of Tesla, Zoom or just any company, just give it a tap and you’ll be brought immediately to a list of updates – as it happens.
InvestingNote
Of course, it also helps if you cross-check any financial news and crowdsource for more market insights. And you can do just as easily through InvestingNote, Singapore’s first and largest social network for both newbie and seasoned investors in Asia.
It’s where you can get on-the-ground market sentiments and pick up golden nuggets of information from the local community (some are really entertaining as well).
Highly recommended for anyone who wants to get a good grasp of the market from the get-go!
Both Apps are available on iOS and Android, and you can download them for FREE.
These are just a couple of things that might help you get moving.
After all…
“You can’t afford to wait 40 years before you start investing” – Bobbi Rebell, personal finance columnist at Thomson Reuters & author
But for now, time is still on our side.
I totally recommend that you should start investing as early as possible.
You’d be putting yourself in a favourable position and also opening yourself to far more opportunities to ride the ups and downs of the market.
Hope this article helps, especially for those looking to get down to serious business and work towards growing your wealth.
(Definitely beats waiting around for your boss to give you a raise anyway!)
For more tips and advice on how to manage your wealth, head on over to:
Top 5 Expense Tracking Apps Perfect For Millennials In 2020
